TeacherSolutions

Teachers' bold, practical solutions for policy and pedagogy

Great teachers solve problems. They inquire, adapt, and invent. And they make the most of limited resources to meet students’ needs. At the Center for Teaching Quality, we've developed a unique process to tap teachers’ ingenuity and expertise to generate solutions for the big challenges school systems face.

TeacherSolutions processes sometimes result in internal documents, as when a sponsor asks teacher experts to critique strategies for initiatives under development. A recent example (2014) is the work of our Educational Testing Service (ETS) TeacherSolutions Team.

How does the TeacherSolutions process work?

Connect

The process begins with sharpening our understanding of the problem and recruiting a diverse dream team of K-12 teachers to tackle it. We also create primers on relevant research and policy for the teacher team and schedule face-to-face and/or virtual meetings.

Ready

Team members synthesize policy, research, and their experiences in webinars and online discussions. As they engage in professional debate with guest experts and one another, we compile key ideas and lingering questions. Through an intensive virtual workshop, teachers work toward consensus on their TeacherSolutions.

Mobilize

Once team members are comfortable with their recommendations, we develop a final product to share publicly: white paper, presentation, infographic, video, podcast, etc. CTQ markets the product on social media and other channels, supporting teachers as spokespeople for their own solutions. We bring the process full circle by collecting metrics on the team’s impact.

"As ETS is working on developing a model of the competencies teachers draw on in their work, CTQ provided invaluable support in drawing together a panel of master teachers to review the model and provide feedback and critique toward revisions. Their input identified critical features of safe and responsible teaching that will be reflected in revisions to this model which ETS intends to use in developing assessments of teaching, beginning with a practice-based redesign of teacher licensure."

If you're making the trip to D.C. for this National Board event, here are some sessions you won't want to miss! Not going but want to follow along? Keep your eye on #CTQCollab & #TLConf15 on March 13 and 14.